Ua ha'alele'oe ia'u i ka mea i'oki'ia
by Girl with the Broken Smile0
Summary: It's not easy when everyone expects you to hold on. To hide fear, anger, pain. To keep everything inside of you locked up. But that is what he has been trained to do. That is all he has ever known. But sometimes it becomes too much. Sometimes the weight of everything begins to crush you slowly. And when it does, it will leave him broken.
1. Nā Mino Make

I am very excited to begin this story. I love Steve McGarrett with a burning passion and I feel like there is so much more to his character than the show allows us to see. And I love the bromance so much. I hope you like the first chapter. Enjoy :)

Chapter 1: Nā Mino Make(Dead Dreams)

 _Drip_

 _Drip_

 _Drip_

He doesn't remember it ever being this dark. A chill runs down his spine and rattles his bones. The room is like piercing black ice. Heavy breathing echoes against the walls and bounces off the ceiling. He is alone in the dreadful black. Silence corrupts his soul. He opens his eyes slowly. A haze washes over him and causes him to stumble slightly. He blinks to clear his focus. His heart desperately tries to crawl into his throat but ends up falling into the pit of his stomach. He lets out a sound, something to cut the tension. A whimper, maybe a moan. Something to be aware of his presence.

In front of him are stairs covered in shadows. He gulps, feeling his hands begin to shake. Something is off. He can feel it. Deep within himself he knows that this is not what dying feels like. He grabs onto the railing and takes his first step. The step creaks under him in protest and he stifles a gasp. Fear takes over immediately and his breathing hitches. He continues to walk up the stairs, stumbling a few times.

Then he realizes where the stairs have taken him. He is at the home base. The glass doors provide the only light in the pitch black for him to draw that conclusion. Hesitating he opens the doors. They shrill in anger from being moved. He is covered in his own sweat, his armpits drenched and his legs shaking uncontrollably. He walks in, terrified beyond reason. Then he sees something that makes his blood run cold.

"Chin!" He shouts, rushing towards the fallen man by the cyber desk. He kneels down toward him. Blood stains the man's clothes and his legs are sprawled out. His throat is slit with blood gushing down his neck and shoulders. The crimson liquid makes his stomach churn.

"Chin, chin no come on don't do this to me. Chin please!" He cries out, desperately trying to feel for a pulse on the cold skin. His hands are shaking violently and he murmurs quietly to himself comforting Chin. There is no pulse.

He stifles a sob. This man was like a brother to him. His ʻo ke kaikunāne. They had been through so much together. He had been honored to work with such a man. This man was given friendship and guidance from his father. Something that he himself had never received from his own father. He had helped him get through the grieving and the undeniable guilt that coursed through his veins everyday. For that he was eternally grateful to Chin.

He felt himself sinking. He sniffles and gently reaches over and closes Chin's eyes. To give him some peace and security. Chin looked more peaceful like he was sleeping. He was just sleeping. He didn't die. That was a enough comfort for him to take his leave. He stood up and stepped over Chin's legs. He turned around and looked at him one last time. He had to be strong.

"Mahalo Chin. For everything my brother." He whispers. He can smell the black blood and closes his eyes to try to direct his mind away. He breathes heavily. He knows that he must give a burden to Kono. He puts on a brave face and makes his way into her office. He knocks on the glass door seeing the chair turned around and her hair barely peeking from the top.

She must know then. She must have seen him. His heart aches for her knowing that the sight of her cousin would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Kono?"

He doesn't get a response, not that he expected to. He opens the door. Times like these called for an invasion of privacy. He had to let her know that everything would be alright.

"Kono?" He tries again, his voice cracking under the pressure.

Nothing. Not a sound.

The chair is still facing away from him. He cautiously makes his way around her desk careful not to startle her. He comes around her chair and he cries out in horror.

"Kono!" He shrieks. He sees the blood. Everywhere. It paints her blouse, her neck, her shoulders. She sits in her chair straight as if someone modeled her to pose after they gruesomely killed her. He sobs now, not caring who hears him.

"Kono, no no th...this ca..n..not be ha,..ha..ppen..ing." He stutters out trying to compose himself.

"Kono Kono come on."

He shakes her shoulders and her body falls limp in his arms. He holds onto her body with everything he has, Everything he ever wanted to be. Everything he never could be, He sobs into her crooked form and pets her hair in a way to comfort her and himself.

"It's alright Kono. Y...you c...can sl..e..ep n..now." He stutters, his arms shaking while holding her. He stands up and grabs her limp body and carries her outside. Her blood stains his arms and his shirt. He kneels down and lays her next to Chin. Her eyes are wide open and he wishes someone would gouge his eyes out. He leans down and brushes his hand over her eyes to close them. They are just sleeping.

He is covered in blood. Their blood. His friend's blood. He sobs heavily while standing over them. His hands are soaked in blood. A thought appears in his mind.

"Danny." He says softly and looks over into his office. He doesn't see anything and that makes him shiver. He looks back down at Kono and Chin. He sways slightly and wipes his eyes furiously.

He looks back at Danny's office and stumbles over to his doors. His body is programmed on pure terror now and his actions are fueled by intense blinding concern.

"Danny I'm coming in." He says more to himself than to the person he is talking to. He opens the doors and the black walls seize him. He looks around preparing himself to see something that would truly break him.

"Danny?" He whispers in an uneasy tone. He walks around his desk. He can't see anything. It's more dark in here than any other room. He bangs his foot on the side of Danny's desk and curses in agony. Then he looks up at black ceilings and curses to the god above for letting their blood be spilled so gruesomely. He feels around and finds the top of Danny's chair. He is reeling now, ready for whatever he is about to see. His lungs feel like they might burst by how heavy and quick he is breathing. He wouldn't care. After everything he has seen, he wishes for death more than ever before. He moves the chair to face him, the swiveling sound pounding into his skull and echoing off the shadows dancing on the walls. Then he completely falls apart.

"Danno." He whispers. His body shakes so hard that his bones howl in despair. Then he lets out a scream louder than ever before.

"DANNY!" He screams collapsing into his body. Danny's limp form falls on top of him and he sobs so hard that his chest and his lungs cry out in agony, begging for him to stop.

"Dear god this can't be happening. Danny! Danny! Please no. Please. Dear god Danny! Open your eyes Danny, please. Danny." He mumbles into his shirt and lifts himself off of Danny and holds him up with his arms begging him to open his eyes. His arms are drenched in blood. Danny's blood. Kono's blood. Chin's blood. He screams again, tears flooding down his face. He holds onto Danny hugging him. Hugging him so tight, afraid to let go. He sobs into Danny's shirt.

This was his true friend. His best friend. He had never had a best friend, but Danny was the only true and real thing that kept his head above pain. Above anger. Above sadness. Above fear.

He cried like a little boy wishing that his father didn't send him away. He cried like a little boy wishing his mother was alive and could rock him to sleep. He cried like he had never cried before. After sobbing in the dark for awhile, he had to catch his breath and he releases Danny and gently pushes him back into the chair. Danny's body immediately slumps and blood gushes down his neck. His blonde hair is tossed about in all different directions looking like tousled waves.. One strand of hair hangs over his face slightly above his forehead. Blood runs down the hair and cascades down his face.

 _Drip_

 _Drip_

 _Drip_

He watches it losing all sense of reality. The blood continues to drip off the hair and onto Danny's face and clothes. He cries once again in front of his Danno and never stops once to wipe his eyes. His soul shatters in that dark corner of the room. He sobs violently and feels himself fading. Fading ever so slowly. Fading….

"OUH" Steve shoots up out of bed with a loud groan. He pants heavily feeling sweat drip down his forehead. His hands are shaking and he tries to calm himself. Trying to be as quiet as possible, but the damage is already done.

"Steve?" Her voice gently whispers breaking through the darkness surrounding them. She had felt the sudden movement on the side of the bed and felt the blanket being forced away from her. The warmth gone now and worry taking over. She sees him sitting up and blinks the black dots out of her eyes. When she gets no answer from him, she sits up in bed and places a hand on his back. It feels grounding.

"Hey, you alright?"

Her attention is all on him now and she can feel the shivers running down his back. She moves her hand in a circular motion on his back. She knew that this comforted him sometimes. She hears his breathing hitch.

He rubs his eyes and looks over at her, giving her a tired smile.

"Yeah I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"I'm fine Cath. Sorry I woke you up."

"I was having a boring dream anyway so don't worry about it." She is still concerned and refuses to lay back down until he does.

Steve feels her hand still rubbing his back and moving towards his shoulder. He knows that she is worried.

"Really I'm fine. Now come on. Lets get some rest."

He kisses her forehead and lays his head back down on the pillow. He feels Catherine's arms immediately wraps her arms around his waist and she lays her head on his shoulder. She needed to be close to him. She needed to know he was alright. But most importantly, she needed to love him.

Catherine falls right back to sleep but Steve's eyes remain open locked in that fevered nightmare.

* * *

The sun starts to peek through the curtains and Catherine stirs slightly. She looks over at Steve who seems to have fallen asleep. His eyes are clenched tightly. She kisses his cheek and snakes her arms out from under him. She yawns and covers her mouth, refusing to wake him. She gets up out of the bed slowly and puts the blanket back near the pillows to give him extra warmth. She looks at the alarm clock by the table.

7:00 A.M.

Normally Steve would be up a little earlier to go for his morning swim and jog. Or sometimes he would wake up Catherine for a little morning romp. But last night had been tough on him.

Catherine had noticed that every night seemed to have a hold on Steve. He had been having trouble sleeping for the past week.

She would be damned if she woke him up. Reaching down, she rolls down a tucked corner of her pajama pants and makes her way out of the bedroom. She is about to close the door when she hears vibrating.

"No. no." She whispers rushing over to the bedside table and grabs Steve's phone knowing how easy it was to wake that man. He was a little sleeper. Sometimes she was grateful for that. Other times it annoyed her to no end.

She walks out of the room and closes the door as quietly as possible, the phone still vibrating in her hand. Without even thinking and just knowing Steve's phone is in her hand, she answers and then mentally slaps herself in the face.

"McGarrett?"

"Oh wow Steven, your sounding more like a girl everyday."

"Danny…"

"Morning Catherine!"

She can practically see his gleaming smile over the phone. She rolls her eyes.

"How was your night?"

"It was fine, Danny. How's Grace doing?" She decides to spin off the conversation into his direction.

"Oh she's good. I just dropped her off at school. Listen, is Steve around or he is just getting ready for his 20 mile swim?"

"...He's sleeping Danny."

"...Uh I'm sorry, did you just say he was sleeping? He's not off gallivanting in the ocean or trying to get himself killed trying to run off the face of the earth?"

"No Danny. Steve is sleeping. It's been….well it was…"

"Was what?" Danny interrupts hearing the hesitation in her voice.

"It was a rough night."

"Why, did something happen?"

"No. Just...look Danny. If it's not important then I really don't wanna bother him. He hasn't been sleeping well this past week and I know he needs his rest. I just want him to sleep right now."

Danny can hear the worry in her voice for Steve. She knew him from the inside and out. She needed to know for herself that he was alright.

"Well I'm sorry Catherine, but we have a case and I kinda need the big lug with me so we can get some lead way with the new lieutenant governor."

He hears her sigh in the phone and feels a pang of guilt. Maybe he could handle the case without Steve but before he can voice his thoughts, Catherine speaks.

"Okay I'll get him up and let him know. Do you need to talk to him?"

"Uh no I guess not. Just let him know I'll come by the house and pick him up in about 10."

Normally Steve would drive up to head quarters and then he would drive Danny's car to the crime scene. But because of the circumstances and Catherine's obvious worry, Danny decided to just come by the house. He knew Catherine would appreciate it.

"Thank you Danny."

She hangs up the phone and sighs heavily. She really wanted him to sleep today. Just for a couple hours. He looked so tense when he slept and she wanted him to relax. She makes her way up the stairs and opens the door. He's still sleeping and the lines have faded away around his eyes. He seems to be in a relaxed state. Finally.

' _Now I have to ruin it'_ Catherine thinks to herself. She kneels down in front of him.

"Steve."

He doesn't flinch.

"Steve. Come on." She shakes his shoulder and feels him stir.

He lets out a deep sigh and opens his eyes.

"Morning." He smiles at her. Even when his hairs a mess and he's not even trying, she still gets shivers down her spine from that smile.

"Sorry to wake you, but Danny called. He said that you guys have a case. He's going to come by and pick you up. I told him that would be fine."

"He's picking me up?"

"Yeah."

"I can drive myself to work Cath." Steve says, slightly annoyed.

"Well I wanted you to rest and Danny offered to get you and I'm not going to argue with him. You know how he gets."

Oh did Steve know what that blonde whirlwind could turn into. He sits up in bed and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"You sure this isn't just you worrying about me again?"

"Well…" She looks down at the floor, tears threatening to spill. Steve notices her change in demeanor.

"Catherine, hey Cath look at me."

He takes his hand and gently lifts her chin up. She bites her bottom lip.

"I told you I'm fine. I just had _weird_ dream, that's all." He whispers in a soothing voice trying to comfort her. She normally wouldn't get so emotional over little things like this, There was more to it. Steve was sure of it. He would talk to her about it later.

"I'm just tired." He assures her and gets up out of bed, moving the sheets off his legs. She gets up from the floor and looks at him. Then she really looks at him.

Boy did he look tired.

"Well Danny's gonna be here soon so…"

She moves to get out of his way, but he grabs her arm and pulls her towards him. Their lips inches away from touching.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine." He murmurs in her hair and she closes her eyes when he kisses her gently.

"You gotta get ready or you'll be late." She whispers staring into his eyes.

"Yeah." He nods. Then he leaves her in the bedroom and makes his way into the bathroom. Catherine still stands there. Why wasn't he letting her in?

Steve starts the water and takes his clothes off. He steps into the shower, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread take over. He thinks about the dream he had. It would haunt him for a long time. Then he thinks about Catherine. She was acting strange. Why wasn't she letting him in?

Before he realized it he had taken a lot longer than 3 minutes for his shower. He quickly shampooed his hair and washed his body before turning the water off.

"Steve! Danny's here." Catherine yells from the bottom of the stairs seeing the silver camaro pull into the driveway.

"Damn it." Steve curses, stepping out of the shower. He shakes his hair off in the towel and puts on the clean clothes he brought into the bathroom. Then after a quick shave and brushing of teeth, he goes into the bedroom, straps his gun on his waist, and makes his way down the stairs.

Catherine is in the kitchen making some eggs. He comes into the kitchen behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. She smiles and leans her head into his chest.

"You know Danny's waiting, right?" She teases him.

"Eh let him wait a little longer. He's a patient guy." Steve says with a chuckle. He lets go of her and walks by the counter. Catherine takes the spatula in her hand and pokes him in the ribs.

"Go." She smiles at him, seeing the spark in his eyes.

"Alright, Alright I'm going. Hey you should get some rest." He teases her quirking his eyebrows. Catherine shakes her head in amusement. Then he opens the door.

"Bye Cath." He shouts and the door closes. Catherine stands in the kitchen smiling, but then it fades away and she prays for Steve to be safe. She turns back to the oven and flips her eggs.

Steve has a ridiculous smile on his face as he makes his way to Danny's car. Danny is not amused. Danny takes the keys out of the ignition and gets out of the car, knowing how this will go.

"Hope I didn't make you wait too long, Danno." Steve says and takes the keys out of Danny's hand.

"Make me wait? Oh no babe. We're already an hour late! The governor is going to be on our asses! But as long as you got a good rest." Danny sneers, already upset that they are late.

Steve puts the keys in and Danny gets in from the side.

"Hey I'm sorry, okay." Steve defends himself as they pull out of the driveway. Danny gives Steve the address and then he decides to keep silent and gratefully Steve does too.

"So how did you sleep?" Danny asks nonchalantly. He sees Steve give him a weird glance.

"What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That look you just gave me."

"What look?"

"The look that says something's up and I would rather not talk about it."

"I don't have that look."

"You do too have that look!"

"It's nothing Danny."

"Okay it's nothing. Right okay then tell me this _Steven_. Why is it this morning that I have to pick you up in my car. My car! Did it ever occur to you that after having to drive Grace to school, driving 30 minutes from the school to the office, then having to drive back to your house to get your sorry ass that I might want to drive my own car for a change!"

"Danny we discussed this. You know I get carsick."

"Right! You mister Army rambo gets carsick! You can have guns pointed at your head, get punched and kicked in the face and walk off without a scratch, have numerous people trying to kill you, but you get carsick!"

"Navy, Danno." Steve corrects, getting thoroughly annoyed.

Danny sputters. Steve rubs his forehead. Silence floods into the car once again. Maybe Danny ran out of oxygen. Steve prays for that many times throughout the day in the back of his mind. But silence never lasts long for the two of them.

"Chin and Kono already there?" Steve asks looking over at Danny.

"Yeah."

Steve finds a side road to pull up to the crime scene. Police and ambulances surround the area. He parks the car. Danny gets out and shuts the door. Steve follows. Kono is talking to a police officer near one of the ambulances. Chin walks over to meet them halfway.

"Alright Chin what do we got?" Steve asks over the loud sirens.

Okay. That's it. I hope you liked it. Review! And be honest. I love this show so much and I want to do it justice. Btw on a completely different note, did anybody watch the New Amsterdam finale! If you did feel free to pm me so we can rant about that amazing new show. Anyway I will update when I can, but I need to know if this is worth updating, okay, So please review.

Mahalo! :)


	2. Ke ho'āʻo nei e hoʻopoina

Hello Everyone! How are all you guys doing? I hope everyone is well. I enjoyed reading the reviews you left me. I appreciate all feedback, whether negative or positive so please do not hesitate to review more and more. I love reading your guys opinions and bonding over a truly amazing show. Hope the next chapter knocks your sandals off! God I wish I lived on a beach :( Enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 2: Ke ho'āʻo nei e hoʻopoina(Trying to Forget)

"Alright Chin what do we got?" Steve asks over the loud sirens.

Danny wears a grimace on his face. He was sure he would be deaf by the time they left the scene.

"HPD said it was a routine traffic stop that took a turn for the worse. Car was hit by an oncoming vehicle."

They walk over to the accident and see a black honda civic smashed from behind. Tail light pieces are scattered all around the gravel. The car is dented severely and seems to have also been smashed in the side. The other car, a blue Toyota corolla is a much older model than the honda. It is even more damaged and seemed to swerve into the side of the car after smashing into the rear.

"Did anybody die? I mean why are we here?" Danny gestures to himself and McGarrett with a annoyed glance.

If this was just a simple car accident, this was not their jurisdiction. And he wasn't in the mood to deal with Steve being Steve right now. Steve gives Danny a rude glance, noting how impatient his partner was.

"Because of this." Chin walks behind the toyota and gestures to the holes in the rear windshield.

"Gunshots?" Steve asks with apprehension. If they were gunshots that usually meant that this incident had ended someone's life today.

"Four to be exact." They saw two holes in the windshield. The glass looked like a spider web. It was cracked from the pressure of the gunshots. Then they opened the door on the driver's side and saw blood smeared against the headrest of the seat. Drawing the conclusion that the other two bullets were probably in the driver.

Danny takes a closer look at the holes in the windshield while Steve makes his way to the car in front. The victim's car.

Chin sees Steve rub his forehead while staring at the black honda civic. He comes over to Steve and places a hand on his shoulder. Steve gives him a weak smile.

Chin sees right through it.

' _Someone had died a horrific death today and I felt the need to sleep in!'_ He thought, infuriated with himself for allowing his selfish desires to get in the way of his job. He would have never slipped like this in the Navy. He runs a hand over his face.

Chin speaks again, bringing Steve and Danny back to wretched reality.

"There was one victim who was killed. The other two have been rushed to Tripler point."

Chin walks them over to a gurney about to be loaded in the ambulance and pulls the sheet back to reveal the body. Steve shakes his head in shock. Sometimes it just didn't seem to be worth it to see these kind of things everyday. Danny groans as he stares at the body.

It was easier if you didn't think of them as people at all.

It was a little girl. Probably around the age of 6 or 7. She had her brown hair pulled back into two cute braids that were now stringy and tainted with blood. All color had vanished from her face making the crimson liquid stand out in stark contrast. She was ghostly pale. She was wearing a blue shirt on with a purple sparkly hippo and the hippo's smile was stained with blood. She had on cute little pink boots that had little gems on the side and blue glitter adorning the shoes.

"Who were the other two victims?" Steve looks over at Danny who seems to be in a trance as he stares at the little girl.

"The mother was driving the honda. She was unconscious when they took her and the kid driving the car was shot behind her. Emts stabilized him. One of the officers who arrived first on the scene said that he was in a bad way when they found him."

Steve takes in all this information with a nod. Then he snaps back into control mode refusing to give into the mood around him.

The sirens pound into his skull. Sometimes he wished that he would never have to hear those sounds again. Sometimes it just didn't seem worth it to tell a mother that her child has died.

"Alright Chin, have Kono run the plates on the corolla and see if we get a hit. Danny and I will drive to Tripler and get statements from the mother and the kid. Get statements from the officers that arrived first to the scene."

"Kono is doing that now. When we're finished here, we'll go back to headquarters and run the plates."

"Good, we'll meet you guys there later."

Chin nods and walks over to Kono leaving Steve alone with his thoughts. Steve looks back at Danny and sees him looking down at his phone. He knew his partner too well that it scared him sometimes.

"Danny...I'm sure Grace is fine." He says in a quiet voice without even looking at his partner. Danny looks up at Steve, not even shocked. Steve knew him too well. And he knew Steve like the back of his hand.

" _That's probably why we get along so well._ " Danny thinks to himself with a snicker, knowing that was the exact opposite of their relationship.

Then he looks back down at his phone and sees a picture of Grace with her phone number at the bottom. He needed to call her. He needed to make sure she was okay.

"I just wanna check on her. School is a dangerous place." Danny defends himself, wagging his finger in the air to emphasize his point.

Steve understood Danny's concern for Grace, but sometimes Danny seemed to want to stick to Grace like glue. He knew when he was a kid he would have loved to have a father like Danny, but not over his dead body would he ever admit that out loud.

"Danny, don't you think your being a little overprotective?" Steve asks in Grace's best interest, but when Danny lifts his eyes to give Steve a death stare, he knows he has awoken the self righteous parent in Danny.

"Over protective? Me being over protective? Let Let me tell you something! When you have your own child one day, some freaking ninja baby! You can do what you want! But my daughter is my business and if I'm concerned about her, I am not being over protective! I am being caring! So excuse me but as a parent I have a responsibility! Which is a word you clearly have never heard of!" Danny yells as he throws hand gestures around like a tornado.

"I'm just thinking of Grace and how embarrassing it's going to be for her when her father calls her in the middle of class, and interrupts the teacher. C'mon Danny, she's fine." Steve tries to reassure him with a tired smile. Danny practically has steam coming from his head.

"First of all it will not be embarrassing, okay? Because I will explain to the teacher and to Grace that when a parent works around people who are constantly getting shot at and the likes of you, that it is more than okay of me to interrupt class to check on my daughter!"

After Danny takes a deep breath, he looks Steve dead in the eye.

"Now if you will excuse me, I have a phone call to make." Danny walks back to his car, holding the phone to his ear. Refusing to allow Steve to speak again.

Steve watches Danny from behind. Danny was a damn good father but sometimes he took the job as a parent too seriously.

Then again he didn't have kids. He hoped that when he did. One day. Okay maybe someday far far away. That he could have that commitment. That he could have the relationship that Danny had with Grace. No matter what boundaries were put between them, they always had each other. That is how he felt with Catherine.

He smiled thinking of Catherine and turned around. The smile disappeared as quickly as it came as he was reminded of where he was. The sirens burning into his ears. The blood painting the little girl's body.

"Can you cover her up, please?" Steve almost begs, The Emt nods and pulls the sheet over the girl's face and body. Knowing she will never be seen again. He stands by the gurney looking at the white sheet.

"Hey Boss." Kono walks over to Steve.

"Hey Kono." Steve looks up at her. Then back down at the sheet.

"She was so young." Kono whispers more to herself than to Steve looking down at the sheet with him. The girl's pink boots peek out from the sheet a tiny bit.

"Yeah," He agrees in a tight voice, refusing to give into his feelings and thoughts that were building up as more time passed.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey Monkey!"

"Danno!"

"Yeah, what are you up to, huh? Staying out of trouble?"

"I'm eating pizza."

"Pizza? What in class? I thought school was for learning, not munching." He puts on his mock serious voice and hears Grace giggle.

"Its lunch time, Danno."

"Ah so it is." He glances down at his watch, realizing what time it is.

"Well have a good lunch, Monkey. Okay? Danno loves you." He says with a smile, not wanting to keep her from eating her lunch. He had done his job. He had checked on her and she was fine. Damn that Steve!

"Love you too Danno." Grace replies, snapping him out of thoughts of ripping Steve a new one. He ends the call and sees Steve talking to Kono and Chin by the dreaded gurney. He wanted to leave now. He didn't want to go near the pink boots or the brown hair peeking out from the white sheet. He didn't want to see the blood. And he was not going to stand around here any longer.

"Steve! Since your busy talking, I'll drive to Tripler point. You can catch a ride with Chin and Kono!" He calls out, grabbing the man's attention. He had never seen Steve's eyes turn so dark. He holds back a chuckle as Steve rushes over to the camaro waving off Chin and Kono. Chin and Kono watch their boss in amusement. Then they drive away, leaving Danny and Steve to fight their battles alone in the midst of ambulances and police cars.

"Wow you run good, babe!" Danny jokes with a spark in his eye. Steve gives Danny a look that could kill and gets into the driver's side.

"Your a funny man, Daniel." Steve says, his voice dripping in sarcasm. He turns the keys into the ignition and puts a radio station Danny hates.

"Cute Steven. Real cute." Danny growls, getting into the passenger side, wanting to slap the smile off Mcgarrett's face.

They pull out, the gravel crunching under the tires and start heading the opposite direction towards Tripler. Steve looks over at Danny and notices he isn't even fighting him on changing the station so as a courtesy, he turns the sound down. Silence.

"So...is grace okay?"

"Yeah she's fine."

"Good." Steve smiles to himself.

"You you can stop with that smug look on your face, okay?"

"Smug? Danny, I told you to not call Grace. They are things like texting or even paging. Things that don't interrupt teachers in the middle of class."

"...I'm sorry uh, paging? Steven this is the 21st century. Maybe not for you but for all the other _normal_ people around you. So no I did not consider paging my daughter. I am proud to say that I do not own a pager!" He jerks his hands around in a crazed manner.

"Doctors have pagers."

"That's right they do and you wanna know why? Because they have too! Because their doctors who are constantly on call so that people do not die!"

Silence once again, Danny thinks he has appeased Steve for the moment.

"...I have a pager."

"Of course you do." Danny deadpans. Steve turns down a street ignoring Danny's jest. Danny looks out the front window.

"Anyway, you don't have to feel bad for Grace cause all I did was interrupt her lunch."

"You interrupted her lunch?"

"Yes Steven. But I didn't keep her on the phone."

"Good lunch?"

"Pizza."

"Oh."

"Oh what? What does Oh mean?"

"Nothing."

"Obviously it means something. You felt the need to make a sound to express yourself."

"I just hope Grace isn't mad at you later."

"W..Why would Grace be mad at me? Did I do something to offend her?!" Danny asks getting extremely annoyed with this conversation.

"Danno, you interrupted someone eating pizza. That's a hewa nui, especially in hawaii."

"Can you stop speaking that foreign gibberish?" Danny snaps.

"E kala mai ia'u."

"I'm gonna stop talking now."

"I said sorry."

"...It might mean more to me if you say it in a language I can understand!"

Silence floods into the car, creating tension between them. Steve feels a headache coming on and rubs his eyes. He was starting to feel very tired. His foot feels heavy on the pedal and his body aches all over. He rubs his eyes again, the yellow lines on the road making him dizzy. He looks over at Danny who is staring out the window. He looks back at the road in front and feels his stomach churn and his world tilt. He rubs at his eyes again in an attempt to keep his focus.

"That's the third time you've done that." Danny observing Steve the whole time while keeping his attention focused on the window, cutting occasional glances at his partner.

"What?" Steve asks in a confused tone.

"You keep rubbing your eyes, babe. Guess you really did need that extra rest."

"Extra rest? I didn't…." Then it clicks in his head. Damn his girl for being so caring. He would never hear the end of this now.

"Did Catherine talk to you?" He asks putting two and two together.

"Well why do you think I picked you up today? Did you think I did that out of my own will! You don't think that Catherine's worry for you might even make me feel something other than intense loathing towards you?"

"...Catherine really is worried about me." Steve says more to himself in a quiet voice, but Danny hears him.

"Of course she is, you neanderthal! You are constantly putting yourself in danger, jumping out of helicopters, getting shot at! It amazes me that you haven't broken all the bones in your body by all the _extremely_ stupid actions and thoughts that run around in that pea sized brain you got up there! Your gonna run yourself into the ground!" Danny gets angry at Steve. How could he be so blind? Danny wasn't as angry as he was worried for his partner. It was only a matter of time before he got himself killed.

"It gets the job done, Danny. I have been trained to act first, think later."

"Well that's great Steve. Meanwhile none of us can barely breathe because we know that it can be seconds later and you'll probably be on a gurney off to some hospital and we have to just pray and trust that you will pull through! It gets old fast!" Worry slips into Danny's voice. Saying it out loud just made that situation become so much more real. Steve can sense that Danny's concerned about him.

"You worried about me, partner?"

"...No Steve. If I was worried then I would have to care about you, which I do not."

"Now thats not true. You know you love me."

"I put up with you, there's a difference."

Steve pulls into the parking lot. There are many cars surrounding the hospital. Many sick and dying people all congregated in one huge building. Steve finds a parking space way in the back of rows of cars. Danny gives Steve an annoyed look at how far away they have to walk to the building.

"Don't give me that look! I did this as a courtesy for you. Now no one will hit your precious car."

"My car? Funny." He gets out of the passenger side and slams the door, making Steve flinch. Steve turns off the car and gets out. He locks it as they make their way to the front doors.

The doors slide open and Steve and Danny walk over to the first desk they see. A woman is hunched over her computer screen, her glasses hanging off the tip of her nose. Her blonde hair is pulled in a messy bun.

"Excuse me?" Steve says, getting her attention. She looks up at Steve and Danny and her glasses snap back to her face. Danny quirks an eyebrow in amusement.

"Uh uh yes how may I help you?" The woman seems flustered and straightens her shirt which makes it look worse.

"Ma'am were Five-O. There was a car accident today near 10th avenue. Two victims were brought in."

The woman hunches over her screen again and her glasses slide down her nose. She types into the computer and clicks her mouse a few times.

"Yes a Martha Fuller was brought in several hours ago along with a kid. No ID was found on the boy so I have no name to give you on him. Would you like Mrs. Fuller's room number?"

"Yes thank you."

"Of course." She hunches down again and Danny watches those glasses slide back and forth.

"Here you are." She looks up at them, her glasses slam into her eyes. She hands them a note.

203 D

"Thanks." Steve takes the note and starts walking away with Danny following suit when she stops them in their tracks.

"Level D is on the fourth floor near the cafeteria. Just go down this hallway and turn left. Then take the elevators to the fourth floor." She gives them directions since they were not familiar with the hospital and she had never seen them before. Many people who come to the hospital usually become regulars, sadly.

Steve nods in appreciation and turns back around. He walks down the hallway she directed him too and follows her orders in the back of his mind.

"She should get some glue for those things." Danny says absentmindedly.

"What?" Steve has no clue what Danny is talking about.

"Her glasses."

They find the elevators and before Steve pushes the 'up' button, Danny cuts in front of him.

"Allow me, partner." He says with a sneer. The 'up' arrow lights up and they wait. A few people surround them waiting for an elevator also. At least they wouldn't have to talk to each other now.

DING!

The elevator doors open and Steve and Danny step in, each to one corner closest to the back to be as far away as they can from each other. Then eight other people join them and Steve and Danny end up being pushed right next to each other. Steve smiles at Danny and Danny growls.

As the elevator climbs up, more and more people get out to their stops. When there's enough wiggle room, Danny moves back to his corner with a smirk.

' _Finally'_ Danny thinks to himself. A solitude moment, away from Steve. That was a plus. Suddenly the elevator doors open on the third floor and two over sized men, one in a wheelchair and one pushing it comes in. The wheelchair slowly inches more and more into Danny's space. Danny becomes exasperated.

"You have got to be kidding me." Danny quietly rages and moves closer and closer to Steve as the wheelchair inches further into his corner. Then Danny brushes against Steve's shoulder without realizing it.

"Just can't keep your hands off me, huh partner?" Steve jokes, a spark in his eyes.

Danny closes his eyes and takes a deep breathe, praying and asking god to please please take this man away. It is enough for him to make it through the rest of the ride until they reach floor 4. When the door opens, Danny rushes out of there while Steve calmly walks behind.

"That's a bit dramatic Danno."

"Just shut up Steve!" Danny threatens in a deathly tone.

Steve shrugs his shoulders and they walk down the hallways until they find the 200 numbered one. The hallway is dimly lit, the white ceilings and white floors screaming denial. They find room 203 and the door is closed.

Steve closes his eyes. He has to prepare himself now to make this already damaged woman, _broken_. Danny notices Steve's change in demeanor. He knew that he hated this part of the job. Giving burdens beyond belief to people who are barely hanging on. Steve was the messenger who crushed people's souls.

Danny watched Steve mentally prepare himself for what he was about to say. He kept silent allowing the seal his time to think in private. When it came to these kind of situations, thinking came first, acting later. Steve opens his eyes and clenches his hands. Then he grabs onto the handle, his fingers wrapping around the cool gray, and opens the door.

Okay! That's a wrap! Did you enjoy it? Please guys you have to review! I need to know if you like it, if you don't like it. Okay whatever it is, please review. I need your feedback. It gives me a boost of confidence to continue this story. Is it worth updating? I need reviews or else I might not update so let me know. Speak your mind! Review! :) Meanwhile I will dream about living on a beach. Mahalo!


	3. Ke kani'oe

Hello! How is everybody? I hope you all are well. That new episode of Hawaii 5 0 was FREAKING AMAZING! Something bad always happens to the people Steve loves. I'm excited to see how Danny and Catherine will help Steve through this dark time. Anyway here is Chapter 3! I hope you like it :)

Chapter 3: Ke kaniʻoe(When you Cry)

He grabs onto the handle, his fingers wrapping around the cool gray, and opens the door.

Slowly.

The door creaks with renewed energy and Steve gives Danny a glance before stepping into the room. Danny directs his eyes back to the door and follows behind. They try to be quiet, not wanting to startle this woman in any way.

The room is still. Closed off. The cream curtains are tightly sealed, refusing to allow the sun to warm up the empty space and provide light. There is a faint scent of a lemon disinfectant in the air. The walls are bleak, bumps and scrapes stretched inside of them. The floor is cold greys and blues scattered about in no particular pattern.

Their eyes bounce around the room, anxiously. This four walled box felt so empty and forgotten. And then Steve's eyes land on her.

She looked so gone. Her face was as pale as the sheets that covered her body. Her long brown hair stuck to her face in a messy way and clung to her pillow. She had an IV inserted into her left arm. A blue neck brace held her head up. Blue and purple bruises decorated her face. She had a white bandage wrapped around her right hand and wrist. A nasal cannula was giving her oxygen. Her eyes were closed. Machines beeped and whooshed, creating the only sound in the room. A heart monitor zig zags up and down, allowing Steve a moment to breathe.

He looks back at Danny. Danny gives Steve a look that has no meaning, but Steve understands. He looks back at the woman noting her injuries. She could be dead right now. Knowing what he has to tell her, she would probably want to be dead.

But right now her mind is safe. Right now she has an escape from reality. That's one thing that hospitals can give you. An escape. From life. From the real world.

He sighs. He doesn't have to tell her right now. He doesn't have to break this woman, yet. She was sleeping. Sleep. The best way to escape reality.

With cautious movements, they walk to the door and Steve grabs the handle, feeling the cool gray sink into his fingers.

"Who are you?"

It's quiet and at first, Steve isn't sure he heard anything. But something tells him to turn around. He is met with two open eyes.

"Mrs. Fuller?"

"Who are you?!" She demands now, fear in her voice and her eyes. She puts her finger on a button to call a nurse.

"Hey, hey no need for that." Danny whispers coming over and takes the device and sets it down with no fight from her.

"Mrs. Fuller we are Five-0." Steve says, lifting a side of his shirt to show his badge to her.

She visibly relaxes, the medicine must be kicking in.

"You scared me." She whispers, her green eyes bouncing back and forth between them.

"I apologize. We should have came at a different time." Steve says in a quiet voice.

"I wasn't sleeping. I just can't look at this room anymore. Or deal with anymore nurses." She closes her eyes again and takes a deep breath. Then she opens her eyes again and studies the two of them. Maybe they could give her an answer.

"And these damn nurses won't tell me where my daughter is!" She yells exasperated. Steve and Danny glance at each other and then back at the woman. Steve can see the fear in her eyes for her daughter.

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

"The doctor told me there was some kind of accident."

"It's more than that." Steve tries to explain to her what happened, but she constantly interrupts, panic evident in her voice.

"You were in a car accident, do you remember anything?" Danny asks, seeing Steve at a loss for words and takes over.

"A car accident? No I don't…. Where wheres my daughter?" Danny's new information sinks in and immediately she turns into a fearful mother.

Steve just looks at her without saying a word. Sometimes words didn't need to be said.

"Wheres WHERES MY DAUGHTER!" She yells now, terrified and looks around frantically from her bed for her child.

"...I'm sorry Mrs. Fuller." Steve says in a quiet voice.

The woman looks at Steve, frozen. She doesn't say anything for a few moments and then it hits her and she begins to sob. Her shoulders shake and Steve just stands in front of her with Danny feeling awful inside.

"I'm so sorry." He tries again to comfort her and reaches out to hold her hand. She stops sobbing for a minute and looks up at them, her tear stained face gnawing at Steve's heart. She starts speaking through her sobs

"You know as a mother…. you..y..ou have to prepar...re yourself for the worst sometimes. I always tried to keep myself r...ready you know, in case something ha..happened. I didn't want her to see me like that. B..b..but now.. It doesn't e..even matter because my bab..baby's dead." She stutters out, her body taking over as she begins to cry heavily.

Steve grabs onto her hand tighter, feeling so close yet so distant at the same time. Danny feels for the mother. He knew how he would feel if Grace was taken away from him in such a horrible way. He would be broken.

"S..stupid re..reason really. She had to get a phy...physical done to start pl..pl..playing soccer for school. We w..were on our way to the d..do..doctors. She w...wanted to wear her s..so..soccer uniform to the a..appointment. I told her she c...couldn't. She had s..slept in it the night before."

Danny chuckles lightly when the woman smiles a little while telling the story. Little girls wanted silly things sometimes. He could relate.

"Why did I tell her no? W..Why?"

She lets the question hang in the air in silence for awhile.

….I wanna see my b...baby before you put her in the ground, y..you hear me? I need to see h..her be..fore you…" She falls apart again and covers her eyes with her bandaged hand and weeps for her lost child.

Steve puts his head down for a minute, trying to keep his composure. Then he kneels down and takes her unbandaged hand and holds onto it with both of his hands.

"Mrs. Fuller I promise you I will find the person responsible for this. I promise you." He whispers, assuring her of everything inside of him. He would not rest until he found her daughter's killer. He would not rest until he gave that woman some closure.

He gets up. Squeezing her hand one more time, he watches the woman continue to cry. Then he leaves the room and stands against the wall outside of the room near the door.

Danny watches Steve leave. Then he looks back at the woman who is very gone now. He decides to take his leave, sensing that something was bothering Steve. He knew he got more bothered when they had cases dealing with children. He sees Steve holding his head with his hand.

"Hey, you alright?" Danny asks, closing the door behind him. Steve gives Danny a look that punches him in the gut. He has to hold back a gasp from how opposite the stoic commander usually looked.

"She was just a kid, Danny." He whispers softly and his eyes betray him, showing the pain he really feels.

"Hey hey no don't do this to yourself, okay. It's not your fault. You couldn't have prevented this even if you had woken up on time. Now listen to me. We're gonna find the son of a bitch who did this, okay? And then we are going to come back here and give that woman some closure. That's what we do. That's what you and me do." Danny says trying to comfort Steve. He looks him in the eye and gestures to himself and Mcgarrett.

He waits to see if anything he said to the seal has sunk in. Immediately, Steve snaps out of his state and start walking with a new determination.

"Hey, where are you going?" Danny asks and then tries to keep up with whatever hellfire was burning inside his partner.

"To find that boy that killed her daughter." He sneers and keeps twisting up and down hallways with a fiery force. Danny tries to keep up and gets annoyed.

"Where the hell are you going?!"

"To find someone who can give me answers!" Steve shouts over his shoulder, knowing Danny was somewhere behind. Far behind.

He keeps walking through the maze of halls, looking back occasionally to see how far Danny was when suddenly he bumps into a nurse and she drops her clipboard and papers.

"Oh I'm sorry. Here let me help." Steve kneels down on the ground and notes her blonde ponytail and blue eyes. He grabs the papers and puts them in a pile and takes the clipboard in his other hand. She seems shocked by what just happened.

"Thankyou. The first couple days are never fun." She says more to herself and takes the papers and clipboard from him with a smile.

She takes in his handsome face, his kind eyes….his strong jaw. She straightens her uniform and the papers.

"Thanks again."

"Your new here? Just starting out?"

She smiles. This guy was interested in her. Wearing contacts today was not such a bad idea at all. She decided to be kind since he was considerably handsome. She feels her cheeks heat up.

"First week." She takes a piece of hair and tugs it behind her ear.

"Steve." He says holding out his hand.

"Amanda, nice to meet you." She says and shakes his hand. He was gorgeous up close.

Danny catches up to them when he sees Steve talking to the blonde in scrubs in the hallway. He smirks. Steve seemed so determined until she showed up.

"You are an animal you know that, right?" Danny says coming beside Steve with an annoyed glare. His heart pounding in his ear drums and his hands sweaty from trying to keep up with this man.

"Oh Amanda this is Danny, my number one stressor." Steve says not missing a beat. Danny gives Steve a quick smile with his eyes closed.

Then he opens his eyes. Of course the most attractive nurse would willingly talk with Steve.

"Nice to meet you, Amanda." Danny pipes in taking the nurse's gaze off of Steve. He gives her a slight wave with a tight smile. She looks at him but her focus goes right back to tall and sharp standing next to him.

"Amanda, I was wondering if you could help us." Steve says, knowing she will agree. He could tell right away that she was quite smitten with him.

"Sure."

Danny rolls his eyes.

"We are with the Five 0 task force. There was a car accident today near 10th avenue. Two people were brought in. There is a boy with possibly two gunshot wounds. He had no ID on him at the time. We need the room number that they admitted him to."

"Well I could look through our files and see if they admitted him. Although they haven't really trained me on the computers yet, but I'll see what I can dig up for you."

She looks at Steve and smiles before walking away, making sure her hips swing more than usual. Danny was sure of it.

"I'm here too you know." Danny grumbles. Steve chuckles at his partner's obvious annoyance at the the nurse.

"She knows Danno." Steve says with a ridiculous smile. Danny notes Steve's look on his face.

"You know I never thought I would see you stoop so low using your charm and good looks to take advantage of her!"

"I didn't take advantage. I was just being nice. She's had a hard first week. Remember our first couple days working together?"

"Do I remember?! I wanted to shoot myself with my own gun rather than to work with you!"

"C'mon it wasn't that bad."

"Wasn't that bad? I had never in my entire life been more than ready to murder someone until I met you!" Danny snapped remembering the day they met in Steve's garage. Guns pointed at each other. More than ready to shoot.

"Im touched, Danno. Here she comes." Steve says absentmindedly seeing Amanda walking towards them.

"Okay so I found his room number and it turns out he is waiting to sign some early release papers."

"Early release papers? Wasn't he shot?" Danny asks with a matter of fact voice. That was a dumb kid if he thinks he can leave after being shot.

"Two times." Amanda replies seeing their faces cloud with confusion.

"Sounds like something you would do." Danny says glancing at Steve. Steve just roll his eyes.

"Well he's not leaving anytime soon! Amanda, can we have the room number?" Steve was gonna talk to that kid, even if they had to chat in the parking garage. He would get that punk to talk.

"Sure, let me write it down. Do you mind?" She grabs a piece of paper and pen from her pocket and gestures to Danny to bend over. So she could use his back to write.

"You kidding me?" Danny grimaces.

"Just bend over, Daniel." Steve says letting the words roll off his tongue slowly to annoy his partner further.

"I hate you. I hate you so much." Danny groans quietly and bends over. She leans over and scribbles on the note.

"Okay here you go." She hands Steve the note and looks back at Danny.

"Thanks."

Danny gives her a tight smile. She has her eyes right back on Steve again.

"Thankyou Amanda." Steve says. She nods and glances at her watch.

"Oh I gotta go! Never looks good being late. Nice meeting you two." She says only looking at Steve.

"Yes two." Danny makes a wide gesture with his hands including him and Steve.

"Hey if you ever want to get a cup of coffee or something, my phone number is on there also." Her cheeks turn pink and she gestures to the note.

"I see that. Thank You." Steve says looking down and seeing the numbers scribbled on the note.

She smiles shyly and waves goodbye and starts walking down the hallway.

Danny looks at Steve shocked while Steve shoves the note in his pocket.

"She gave you her number? Did the word Catherine ever pop in your head?"

"Danny relax, I'm not gonna call her. Now c'mon he's on the first floor lets go."

Steve starts walking to the elevators leaving Danny still in shock.

"Come on Danny I'm not holding the elevator for you." Steve teases.

Danny rushes to follow his partner. They get in and ride down to the first floor.

"He's in room 105 A." Steve says quickly, getting out of the elevator with a new spring in his step. His eyes cold and dark. Danny questions his partners judgement. They find the room number and stand in front of the closed door.

"Hey do me a favor and try not to act like a lunatic in there, okay?" Danny almost begs, seeing the very disturbing change in his partner's demeanor. He had been light and smooth with the nurse. Now he had a dark look in his eyes and his hands were clenched into fists.

"Im gonna get him to talk Danny." Steve whispers in a harsh voice.

"Not with the way your acting, your not."

"That woman…Danny I'm gonna find out who killed her daughter."

"Just use some sense babe. Thats all Im asking, okay?

"Sure Danno."

Steve feels his hands shaking and he feels the anger burning through his veins. The door knob shakes and he hears Danny say something about this going horribly wrong. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Then clenching the door knob, he turns it slowly.

Okay I know. I hate it. It's horrible. Its short. Sorry I took so long to update. There was supposed to be a lot more in this chapter, but I have been having a hard time getting my thoughts together. Review honestly okay! And thanks for all the support and kind words. Chapter 4 will be coming soon!


	4. ʻO nā mea a pau

Hello how is everyone? I apologize that it took me so long to update last time. If I rush the chapters they kinda suck. Example: Chapter 3. But I organized myself so hopefully you like this next chapter! Enjoy:)

Chapter 4: ʻO nā mea a pau(Whatever it Takes)

Then clenching the door knob, he turns it slowly. The door knobs shakes from the amount of tension he uses. They walk in and the room is different from Mrs. Fuller's room. There is a empty bed, barren and forgotten. Blue blankets and towels are folded on the top near the pillow. The machines are dark and silent, threatening to beep at any minute. There is a large cream curtain separating the bed from the other side of the room. Light dimly shines through the curtain.

Steve glances back at Danny. He doesn't say anything. Then they both hear someone talking, almost mumbling by how quiet he is.

* * *

"Eh you doing alright Jake? They stitch you up good?"

"Yeah, hey when are you coming to pick me up? This place is so lame."

"Jake." Steve whispers to himself, now knowing this kids name. He continues to listen in.

"Hey I'll be there in an hour! You know Micks gonna be pissed at you."

"Hey! I'll fix it, Aight! He won't know a thing. And if your smart, you won't open your big mouth!"

"Yeah you and everybody else."

"Just hurry up! I gotta get out of here. Mick can't know what happened."

"Yeah yeah whatever Jake. I'll be there when I get there."

"Dom don't screw with me!"

"Yeah yeah."

* * *

The kid grumbles out a few choice words. Then there's silence. No sounds coming from beyond the curtain. Danny decides to walk past Steve and moves behind the curtain, nudging Steve along the way. The rings shrill from the curtain being shifted. Steve follows Danny shortly after.

"How you doing?"

"Who the hell are you?"

"Well…..we are Five-0 and we are here to uh speak with you since you were shot." Danny says dumbfounded gesturing to himself and Steve who decided to show his face at the last minute. They flash their badges and Danny lays a hand on his hip to show off the gun in his holster.

"What's it to you?"

"What's it to us? I'll tell you what it is to us. There was a car wreck and a little girl died."

"What's that got to do with me?" This kid asks, a smile playing on his face. Steve clenches his fist seeing how unaffected this kid was.

Scratch that. This was not a kid. He was a teenager. He had some hispanic or mexican in his blood by the color of his skin. Stupid stubborn fool. He had short brown hair and messy bangs hung in his eyes. He had a cast on his arm and a white bandage wrapped around his head. His brown eyes showed no compassion, no kindness for anything other than what he saw in the mirror. Disgusting little bastard.

Steve looked at this kid with intense hatred clear in his eyes. He didn't even care. He didn't even care that her daughter, her child was dead. Steve could feel himself reeling.

"Jake, is it? " Steve says in a harsh tone, making himself known.

"How do you know my name?" He asks, startled slightly by the new voice in the room.

"It doesn't matter. How's the arm?" Steve asks, not even caring what his answer is. He wanted to make him crack.

"Hurts like hell."

"Yeah well maybe Mick can fix you up." Danny pipes in. Steve stays near the wall, keeping his distance for his own good.

"How do you know Mick? Wait…. were you guys eavesdropping on my conversation? You would think some _cops_ would show a little respect! Heh just proves my point. Cops are screwed loose." He emphasized the word cops to make it seem like he was talking to trash.

Steve tried to control his mind, keep his head down. Just listen to this kid dig himself deeper and deeper. He was bold, he'd give him that. But what that punk had said had sunk deep down. Cops were not desperate, but they would do whatever it takes to get the job done. Steve decides to prove that allowing some anger to take over.

Slowly, Steve comes over to the left side of the bed near his shoulder where his cast was holding his arm up, and sets his hand down on his shoulder with some force. Jake grimaces in pain. Danny shoots Steve a warning look. He sees Steve grab his gun from his holster before he can stop him and shove it into Jake's chest.

"You see that guy behind me? He's the only thing that's keeping me from putting five more bullets into you!" Steve whispers in a deadly tone.

"Hey! Hey Hey! Get that crazed look out of your eye! What the hell do you think your doing, huh? Your threatening a kid that has holes! Holes! In his body!" Danny yells trying to snap his crazed partner out of doing something he wouldn't regret making wild gestures to emphasize his point.

Steve just keeps his gun trained on Jake's chest trying to make the kid squirm. Trying to make fear take over, but this kid was stubborn. He ignored Danny. Whatever it takes.

"What were you doing driving a car with no ID, Jake? Huh? Who were you running from?" Steve asks, his patience wearing thin. He presses the gun a bit harder into his chest and hears the teen's breath hitch.

"I wasn't doin nothin." The kid tries to grit his teeth to ignore the sudden change of pressure. He was sure he would have a bruise there by the end of the day.

"Really? You expect us to believe that? Hows a _stupid_ kid like you get your hands on a car?"

"You gotta know the right people." He says with a knowing smirk. Steve can feel his veins pounding in his skull and his heart beating off key.

" So Im guessing Mick is the right people?"

"Mick ain't nobody!"

" Really, cause you seemed kinda nervous when you talked about him. Seems like he's the boss over you. You don't like someone telling you what to do, do you Jake? So you decide "Screw Mick" and went off on your own. Then your stupid ass gets on the road illegally and you kill a little girl!" Steve started off low, but when he remembered that woman's face, the sounds that came out of her, he flew off the handle.

Danny rushes over to Steve seeing how shaky his trigger finger was and grabs hold of him by the shoulders and pulls him away from the teen. But Steve is on a full on rage.

"Get off me, Danny!' Steve growls shoving Danny away. Danny moves away but keeps his eyes focused on Steve.

"I'm gonna find out who this Mick is and I'm gonna put your ass in jail for killing that girl!" Steve snaps when he regains his composure. He puts his gun back in his holster. No good was going to come out of riling the kid up. All it did was rile Steve up.

Danny and Steve decide to take their leave before Steve turned into a loose cannon, but of course the kid had to push Mcgarrett over the edge.

"Yeah Mick's the kind of guy who doesn't like to be found so good luck with that, _cop_!" He spat out in disgust.

Steve freezes in his tracks and turns around.

"Steve?" Danny questions.

"You go on Danny. I'll be out in a minute."

"You kidding me? I'm not gonna leave you alone with that schmuck! Now c'mon let's go! We can dance with him later." Danny says grabbing onto Steve's arm and tugs at it.

"He won't be here later, Danny!" Steve says reminding Danny of the early release papers this kid was waiting for. Danny gives Steve a knowing glance.

"I took care of that problem with your girlfriend, Amanda. Those papers aren't coming! She said a doctor has to give him a full examination before he can skip out of here. And it might take a day or two since there a bit under staffed. You really should take better care of your health there."

Danny sees Steve's eyes roll at the word _girlfriend_. Then Danny sneers at Jake when talking about his health. He could care less about that kid. A pleased smile is plastered on Steve's face when he looks up.

"Guess we'll see you tomorrow, Jake." Steve teases looking down at the kid who now looks pissed beyond belief.

They walk to the door and go outside. Danny shuts the door behind them. Then he stands in front of Steve, hands on his hips waiting for his genius to be commended. Steve sighs and then notes the whole look Danny has modeled for him.

"What?"

"Don't what me! I just saved your ass, again."

Steve sighs. Danny did tend to pull Steve out of intense situations. He had his back, even though his partner was annoying as hell, he could count on Danny.

"When did you even have time to talk to Amanda?"

"Well while you were running around like a maniac, I figured someone should do something useful so I found her walking down one of the hallways. I told her we needed that kid tied down. She talked to the doctors and they also agreed that the kid was incredibly stupid to leave after being shot. The doctor didn't even know he requested for those papers. Anyway…. I think a thank you is in order here."

Steve raises his eyebrows. He was impressed. He had been so fired up, ready to break down any door to find this kid and Danny had come through for him.

"That's very good Danno." Steve commends his partner. Danny was one of the good ones.

"I'm sorry, what?" Danny asks, putting a hand to his ear waiting for Steve to say the words. Steve sighs and knows his partner won't relent until he gives in.

"...Thank you Danny."

"Why your welcome Steven!" Danny says in a mock excited voice.

Steve gives him a small smile. He then glances back at the door. He feels like something is missing. Something is off.

"Now, can we please go?" Danny asks, his voice snapping Steve out of his thoughts. Steve looks back at him. He has a look on his face. Danny throws his hands up in the air, knowing that look.

"He's not worth it, Steve! He's a schmuck! Hell he's not even a schmuck! He dreams one day of being a schmuck! He's not worth you getting a rip from the governor!" Danny tries to reason with Steve seeing the dark look in his partner's eye.

"Danny, I wont do anything. I promise. I just wanna ask him a question, that's all. I won't even be a minute." Steve says and doesn't bother waiting for Danny's permission. He turns around and opens the door and closes it, leaving a shocked Danny behind the door.

Steve makes his way around the bed and brushes past the curtain. The kid looks up from his phone hearing the shrill of the rings.

"What the hell? You again! You really are screwed loose, cop! You know I could sue you from coming in here!" Jake threatens, anger boiling in his eyes.

Steve doesn't respond but he turns around and closes the curtain. He then walks over slowly to the side of the kid's bed. He sees the kid tense up and watch him like a hawk. Steve inches closer and closer until he's right near Jake's face.

"Yeah….I bet you could. Especially if I did something...like this!" Steve growls harshly and using all the anger, all the pent up frustration from Mrs. Fuller to Danny. To him being late. To him not being able to stop that girl from being killed. He punches the kid with everything burning inside of him. The kid's head rocks back and forth from the force. The sound of metal knuckles hitting flesh screams up and down the walls, bouncing off the ceiling.

"I promise you Jake. Im gonna get you. I will not rest until you are behind bars, rotting like the disgusting piece of trash you are!" Steve says in a dead cold whisper. Then he walks out refusing to give into the gnawing at his heart. The rage boiling through his veins. He knew his hand would be screaming in protest for a couple hours now. He opens the door.

Danny pops up from the wall he was leaning on. He hadn't heard anything. Steve made sure of that. Danny notes Steve's face and his body language. He runs a hand over his face seeing Steve holding one hand close to his chest.

"You punched him, didn't you?"

Steve doesn't say anything, but his body language and his stern look gives Danny his answer. Danny throws his hands up in the air and walks in a circle.

"What the hell is the matter with you! Huh? What is the matter with you? I knew I should have not trusted you! You know he can file a harassment suit against you now, right?" Danny asks annoyed for not stopping Steve. He should have never let him go in there alone.

"I hope he does." Steve sneers, stepping in front of Danny to keep him from making his head spin with his pacing.

"Yeah! See who bails your ass out of jail this time! Cause it sure as hell won't be me!' Danny growls, his nostrils flaring.

"Danny...you're over exaggerating as usual." Steve calmly replies. He starts walking down the hallway leaving his partner reeling behind him. Danny sputters. He looks back at the door. He will probably be looking at a pretty black eye tomorrow. Steven…...

"You coming, Danny?" Steve asks not looking back, snapping Danny out of his thoughts. Danny catches up to Steve.

"You know something's wrong with you right?" Danny teases him in disgust.

"Add it to the pile, Danno." Steve says with a tired smile. Danny just shakes his head at his partner's ignorance. They wait for the elevator. The doors open and they step in and ride down to the first floor.

People step on and off. Human bustle. There was complete silence in the elevator. It seemed to be a void of silence. Steve rubs his forehead. Danny notes Steve looking more pale than usual. He looked really tired. Maybe he really did need some sleep. He also noted Steve still comforting his probably throbbing hand now. He made a note in the back of his mind to remind Steve to ice it when they got to headquarters. Finally the doors open to the first floor and several people get out along with Steve and Danny.

Steve's phone vibrates and he grabs for it with his right hand but stops short with a loud groan. Danny watches with an amused look. Steve rolls his eyes at Danny's glowing smile. With some difficulty he uses his left hand and manages to take his phone out of his pocket.

"Mcgarrett?"

"Steve, where are you guys?"

"Still at the hospital."

"Still? I thought you guys were meeting us up here?" Chin questions remembering what was said earlier.

"We are, but we got caught up." Steve says with a grimace knowing Danny's about to let everyone know what happened.

"Yeah and you can thank Steve for that!" Danny pipes in making sure Chin hears him.

"This is partly your fault too, Danny!" Steve snaps back, he rubs his forehead. That headache was making an unwelcome appearance again.

"My fault?"

"Yeah partly."

* * *

"What's going on?" Kono asks Chin, hearing the commotion on the phone and notes Chin pulling the phone away from his ear.

"Their solving their differences." Chin grumbles in annoyance. Everytime. They always got in an argument.

"That would be a first." Kono says with a smile, knowing how the two got along. Even though they drove eachother crazy, they had each others backs and cared about each other.

Chin nodded with an amused smile. He could hear the two going back and forth. He decided to stop the bickering before one of the nurses _kindly_ escorted them out.

"Listen that doesn't matter right now! Steve I think you need to come down here and take a look at what we found."

"Alright we're leaving now. We'll be there in about 10."

Chin hangs up and lets out a sigh. Those two could drive anyone mad.

* * *

Steve and Danny walk out of the glass doors. They walk through the maze of cars and Steve searches for the keys with his left hand. He clumsily keeps letting them slip through his fingers and gets rather agitated. Danny watches amused.

"You need some help there, babe?"

"No I got it!" Steve snaps and finally does get his fingers to loop around the keychain, but his clumsy fingers set off the alarm.

"Great! This day just keeps getting better and better!" Danny yells over the car alarm now blaring, making itself known to everyone around. Steve fumbles in his pocket, desperately trying to stop the blood screaming in his eardrums. Then the car alarm stops and Steve sighs. The pounding in his head bounces around like a pinball machine.

"Sorry." Steve says loudly enough for the people around him who were rudely startled.

"He always is." Danny mutters to himself. At least they know where the car is now. They walk over to it. Steve grasp onto the keys and unlocks the doors.

"Hey don't you think with one less hand, I should drive?" Danny asks seeing Steve about to get in to his normal seat.

"Why would that matter? I can still drive with one hand."

"Why would it matter? It would matter because you barely use your left hand! And I don't wanna die today!" Danny shouts back before begrudgingly getting into the passenger side. Knowing it is no use. If Steve was one thing, he was stubborn and he wore it proud. Damn that man!

"I have done plenty things with one less hand, Danny." Steve tries to defend himself. Why did he even bother trying anymore?

"Yeah okay." Danny says clearly not believing him. But the more he thought about where the conversation was headed, the quicker he wanted to stop it. He needed to change the direction of the conversation.

"You feeling okay, Steve?" Danny asks seeing Steve rub his forehead again. He also sees Steve have his right hand draped on his legs. He could see the knuckles swelling with purplish and blackish tints. He must have got him good.

"You have got to stop this Danny!" Steve says exasperated.

"Stop what?"

"Worrying! Stop worrying about me! I'm fine, you don't need to mother hen me."

"Mother hen you? Wow." Danny stretches his chin out, quirking his eyebrows.

"Yeah you're always breathing down my neck asking me if I'm fine! And I have told you numerous times that I am fi…..ahh!" Steve stops short with a loud groan of pain and Danny immediately sits up in his seat, his belt buckle tightening around his stomach and neck uncomfortably. All his attention is on Steve.

"I'm fine, Daniel." Steve says, writing a mental note to keep his hand as still as possible. Great! He probably broke it. He keeps driving but realizes that he was not a very good left handed driver. Danny decides to voice his concerns out loud.

"Yeah your fine! You probably broke it you maniac!" Danny glances down at his right hand. It did look quite painful. He would make sure that Steve iced it right away. Before he did anything else.

"That kid got what he deserved."

"Oh that's your excuse for every stupid action you do!" Danny argues back. They got what they deserved. That's the oldest one in the book.

"Hey I'm fine with dealing with some bruised knuckles if it means putting that kid's ass behind bars."

"Yeah and what about the person who shot him? You gonna get him too?" Danny asks trying to make sure Steve was focused on the real target. That kid was smug. But someone had shot him which had caused the accident. Danny needed to make sure Steve was aware of that.

"I'll get em." Steve says in a dark tone and Danny looks down at Steve's hand then back at Steve before leaning back into his seat.

"I know you will. Just try to remember who the real target is here, okay? Yes that kid is a schmuck, but he was shot by someone else. So just keep your head focused Steve."

"I got it Danny." Steve says impatiently and pulls into head quarters. The HPD. Steve parks the car and Danny gets out. Meanwhile Steve still sits in the car trying to figure out which exit would cause the least amount of pain. Danny waits and notices the door isn't opening. Feeling some sympathy he goes over and opens the door for Steve.

"C'mon." Danny says and holds his hand out for Steve to grab.

Steve grabs it and holds his right hand close to his chest. He groans. But they manage. He gets his feet out and then Danny pulls him out of the seat. Then Danny closes the door and without any fight, takes the keys from Steve's left hand and locks the car. Danny comes around the side and sees Steve standing in front with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks Danno." He means it. He didn't want to say anything, but his hand was in agony. It was his own fault, but he was glad Danny was done making a deal out of it.

"Yeah yeah c'mon." Danny says and puts an arm around Steve's back as they make their way to the door for a moment. Then he moves away and walks beside his partner.

Danny could see the pain on Steve's face. He really had hurt his hand good. Danny walks in front of Steve and opens the door for him once they reach them. Steve steps in first with a nod and Danny follows. They walk up the stairs and Steve stops for a moment.

He remembers the blood. Hearing his own screams echo against the walls. He blinks his eyes to clear his focus and his head. Danny is ahead when he notices Steve is not following and turns around. But then Steve starts to climb up the stairs also. Danny opens the glass door for Steve again to lead to their space in the huge building. Steve holds his right hand close refusing to bump it into anything. There was a deep pain that buried itself in his bones.

"Hey! Hey what happened?" Kono's smile disappears when she sees Steve cuddling his right hand to his chest and Danny coming behind him with a look that spoke volumes.

Chin turns around hearing the change in Kono's voice. He sees Steve's bruised knuckles and looks at Danny for an answer.

"Uh well Steve thought it would be uh useful to punch our suspect in the face." Danny explains with a mock smile.

" That looks bad, brah." Chin says seeing all the different colors that decorated Steve's hand. That had to hurt like hell.

"Its fine, really. Now?" Steve says gesturing to the cyber desk and sees a picture on the screen.

Chin could see Steve's impatience, his clear agitation. Some pain was mixed in there too somewhere. Poking him would make matters worse. He already knew Danny had did plenty of that. He decided to get straight down to business.

"Right…. well we got a hit on the license plate. Have you ever heard of the Thompson Tires corporation?"

Well that's the end of this chapter! I hoped you enjoyed it and I hope you all continue to review more and more. Chapter 5 coming soon. Sorry I took so long. Mahalo!


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